CHARLOTTE — A driver who police say hit and killed a bicyclist nearly two months ago in south Charlotte is facing a new felony charge, Channel 9 learned this week.
Casey Ruppe is back in the Mecklenburg County Jail charged with felony death by vehicle. Investigators say she dragged a father of three under her car for about half a block, but she thought she had just hit a curb.
“We just take it one day at a time,” Patsy Page told Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz.
Page is the aunt of the victim, Jeramie Page; he went by Mitch. She said he was a loving and outgoing guy with a big personality.
“He always cut up, and he was always fun to be around,” Page said.
Police say Mitch’s life ended in January along E. Woodlawn Road, when Ruppe hit him as he rode his bike.
According to new court records, Page was dragged 290 feet, and found trapped underneath Ruppe’s Nissan.
His sister, Maggie, described her brother’s condition at the hospital.
“The police even told his mother, I would not look at him,” Maggie Miller told Sáenz on Thursday.
At the time, Ruppe was only charged with driving while intoxicated.
“It was definitely heartbreaking to hear that the only charge would be the [DWI],” Page said.
Police said after investigating further, they charged Ruppe with felony death by vehicle, saying she “should have stopped for the bicyclist with right of way and have known she was involved in a collision,” according to court documents.
Page’s family said they have no ill will toward Ruppe, but they’re thankful to police for working the case.
“I think it’s appropriate,” Miller said.
“We are immensely grateful,” Page said. “[Mitch] wasn’t just an item on the side of the road; he was a man, he was a father, he was a son, he was an uncle.”
Police said Ruppe was drunk at the time; she told them she had two drinks at a nearby restaurant, and officers said they also found an open bottle of vodka in her floorboard.
Page’s family told Sáenz they just want accountability and for everyone to think twice before drinking and getting behind the wheel.
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